the bard of Olney and the future Chief Justice of Bengal had much in common with their younger associate. And that boyish friendship held them fast together in after years. When Hastings was impeached by the House of Commons, Cowper steadily refused to believe him guilty. From the day when Impey clasped hands again with Hastings in Calcutta there grew up between them an intimacy which even sharp public differences could not permanently impair.
Young Warren's life at Westminster gave fair promise of future achievement. A strong brave soul lay seething within his puny frame. 'Quick he was and mild,' says Gleig; 'much addicted to contemplation, and a hard student; but he was likewise bold when necessity required, full of fire, ambitious in no ordinary degree, and anxious to excel in everything to which he addressed himself.' He liked playing at cricket, but his favourite pastimes were swimming and rowing, in both of which he acquired no common skill. His sweet temper and engaging manners seem to have made him a general favourite, while his cleverness and diligence in school-hours won many an approving comment from the head-master himself.
In 1747 he came out first on the list of candidates for a King's Scholarship; Impey taking only the fourth place. Two years later the death of his good uncle changed the whole course of Warren's life. His new guardian, a distant relative named Chiswick, was a Director of the East India Company. He
